Batman Vol 1 404
' Year One (Part I of IV): Who I Am - How I Come to Be ' :"Without warning it comes... crashing through the window of your study... and mine... I have seen it before... somewhere ...it frightened me... as a boy... frightened me... yes, Father. I shall become a bat." ::--'Bruce Wayne' Summary Volume: 1 Issue: 404 Month: February Year: 1987 Credits Editor in Chief: Dick Giordano Head Writer: Frank Miller Cover Artists: Dave Mazzucchelli Pencilers: Dave Mazzucchelli Inkers: Dave Mazzucchelli Colourists: Richmond Lewis Editors: Denny O'Neil Synopsis Cast of Characters: * Bruce Wayne * Alfred Pennyworth * Arnold Flass * Gillian B. Loeb * Harvey Dent (cameo) * Jackie * James Gordon * Joe Chill (in flashback) * Martha Wayne (in flashback) * Morgan (behind the scenes) * Renny * Selina Kyle * Skunk (off-panel) * Stahnsen * Stan * Thomas Wayne (in flashback) * Tom * Wilson Locations: * Gotham City :*Bay Ridge :*Chute's :*East End :*Gotham City International Airport :*Gotham City Police Headquarters :*Wayne Manor Items: * None First Appearances: Arnold Flass (a corrupt police officer); Gillian B. Loeb (police commissioner of Gotham City); Jackie (a newscaster); Renny (a corrupt police officer); Skunk (a "John"); Stahnsen (a corrupt police officer); Stan (a pimp); Tom (a news reporter); Wilson (a corrupt police officer) Final Appearances: Jackie Synopsis: Chicago police lieutenant James Gordon relocates to Gotham City and begins working under Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb. Already he finds himself detesting the grime of the city, but his thoughts are on his pregnant wife Barbara. Inwardly, he hopes her tests come back "negative". Meanwhile, Gotham City's most eligible bachelor Bruce Wayne returns to the United States after nearly twelve years abroad ever since the age of 13. He plays up the role of billionaire playboy, but secretly he is anxious to begin a new career as a crime fighter. He wants to avenge the tragic deaths of his parents, Thomas and Martha Wayne. Across town, James Gordon meets some of his fellow officers, including the brutish Lt. Arnold Flass. It doesn't take Gordon long to realize that Flass represents only a tiny fraction of a trail of corruption that extends all of the way to the Commissioner's office. Gordon learns that Flass is reckless and is not above accepting the occasional bribe. However, Gordon’s own moral code is strong and he refuses to buckle beneath the weight of corruption. Flass grows concerned and tells Commissioner Loeb that Gordon may not be a "team player". Coyly, Loeb gives Flass permission to teach Gordon a lesson. That night, Flass and three other officers don ski masks and corner Jim in the parking garage. They mercilessly beat him with baseball bats, but Gordon recognizes the sound of Flass' laughter and vows to strike back. Later, Jim takes his car and follows the crooked cops back to a place called Chute's. He waits for them outside until they are ready to leave. As Flass drunkenly stumbles out of the building, Gordon attacks him. He beats Flass up, strips him naked and leaves him bound with his own handcuffs on the side of the road. Jim is confident that the incident will go unreported. Some nights later, Bruce Wayne disguises himself as a vagrant and begins patrolling the seedy streets of Gotham's East End. He gets into an altercation with an albino pimp named Stan over an adolescent prostitute named Holly. Bruce and Stan's fight attracts the attention of another one of Stan's working girls – Selina Kyle. Selina tries to defend Stan, but Bruce lays her out with one blow across the jaw. Suddenly, police officers arrive and take the disguised Wayne into custody. Bruce breaks free of his handcuffs and forces the police cruiser off the road. Wounded and bleeding, he manages to make his way back to his Porsche and return home to Wayne Manor. He sinks into a wing chair in his study and begins stammering his father's name. Bruce feels that he has failed his parents. He reflects upon the night that a common mugger savagely gunned them down in the street, leaving him an orphan. Suddenly, a bat crashes through the open window. Bruce takes it as a sign and promises to avenge his parents' deaths by taking on the form of a bat. Notes * This issue is reprinted in the Batman: Year One trade paperback. * The events from this issue take place in both Post-Crisis New Earth continuity as well as Earth-31 continuity. * The flashback scenes from this issue take place with scenes shown in the issue Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #1. * This issue establishes that Bruce Wayne is around twenty-five years old when he first begins his crime-fighting career as the Batman. In narrative, he states that he was only seven-years-old (possibly an honest error by the writer) when Joe Chill murdered his parents. This, however, contradicts other sources, such as the Zero Hour timeline, which establishes Bruce as eight years-old at the time of his parents' death. Batman's profile in Superman/Batman Secret Files and Origins (2003) confirms the Zero Hour timeline and establishes that Bruce is in fact eight years old when his parents are killed. * Catwoman appears as Selina Kyle only in this issue. * Holly Robinson and Stan the pimp are major supporting characters in the Catwoman limited series. * It is briefly stated in this issue that James Gordon was forced to leave Chicago after an incident involving other corrupt police officers. This incident is expanded upon in greater detail in the Gordon of Gotham limited series. * Harvey Dent is seen only briefly on a television screen in this issue. Trivia * Detective Arnold Flass and Commissioner Gillian B. Loeb were both featured in the 2005 feature film Batman Begins. Actor Mark Boone, Jr. plays the part of Lt. Flass and Colin McFarlane plays Commissioner Loeb. * In narrative, Bruce Wayne references several Gotham City landmarks, namely Robinson Park, the Finger Memorial and the Sprang Mission. These locales are named after creators Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger and Dick Sprang. * Bruce's moment of inspiration in his father's study is a re-imagining of a scene first depicted in Detective Comics #33. * The tagline for this issue is "He will become the greatest crimefighter the world has ever known... It won't be easy". Recommended Readings * Batgirl: Year One * Batman: Year One * Batman Annual #19 * Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight Annual #5 * Batman: Shadow of the Bat Annual #3 * Catwoman (Volume 1) * Catwoman (Volume 2) Annual #2 * Detective Comics Annual #8 * Robin: Year One Related Articles * Batman cover art gallery * Batman (Bruce Wayne)/Appearances * Batman quotes page * Alfred Pennyworth appearances list * Catwoman image gallery * Catwoman appearances list * Gotham City Police Department * James Gordon appearances list * Two-Face appearances list External Links * Batman: Year One article at Wikipedia * Batman article at Wikipedia * Batman article at Toonopedia * Batman article at Supermanica * Batman article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * Batman page at DC Comics * Batman: Yesterday, Today and Beyond * Batman: The Dark Knight * Alfred Pennyworth article at Wikipedia * Alfred Pennyworth article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * Catwoman article at Wikipedia * Catwoman article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * James Gordon article at Wikipedia * James Gordon article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe * Two-Face article at Wikipedia * Two-Face article at the Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe References * The Unofficial Guide to the DC Universe (character chronologies) ---- Batman 404 Batman 404 Batman 404 Batman 404